WWE Rumors: Possible Backstage Reason For AJ Styles Punching Vince McMahon To End SmackDown On Christmas Day

What's the story?

After Rusev was triumphant in winning the United States Title in the main event of SmackDown on Christmas Day closed out with a short segment where Vince McMahon met former WWE Champion AJ Styles.

McMahon basically goaded Styles into hitting him, unleashing what Vince called 'the animal inside Styles'. Vince slapped AJ and AJ then decked Mr. McMahon.

Ringsidenews.com carried a transcript of the PW Torch Radio Show with Wade Keller. Keller revealed on the show that it might have been the case of Vince giving AJ the rub of interacting with Mr. McMahon.

In case you missed it . . .

AJ Styles has carried SmackDown Live for most of its inception. He was the champion for over 300 days and ultimately lost the title to Daniel Bryan on the SmackDown before Survivor Series.

It signalled a heel turn for Bryan but also left Styles looking to reclaim his title. Styles was ultimately unsuccessful in regaining the belt at TLC after losing clean to Bryan.

Since he was essential without the belt he had carried for much of the last two years, Styles might have seemed a little lost. In the closing segment of SmackDown, Vince called Styles into his office. He asked Styles 'who he was' and 'why was he letting Bryan run around on SmackDown if it was the house that he built'.

Could we be seeing Dark AJ coming to the forefront?

He then proceeded to slap Styles and Styles punched McMahon. At the end of the segment, McMahon smiled while being asked if he was okay.

The heart of the matter

The segment ended with Styles decking McMahon after the Chairman goaded Styles into it.

Keller mentioned some possible backstage reasoning behind the segment's purpose:

“I guess Vince is trying to bring out a more aggressive version of Styles and give him a bit of a McMahon rub, we’ll have to see where this goes. I guess Vince thinks he can have kind of the Midas touch getting AJ to the next level because AJ has been too nice lately.”

Styles has already had two face runs and a heel run, so perhaps Vince was just trying to get Styles to either return to the dark side or get an edge.

He also mentioned that it seemed like previous versions of the Mr. McMahon character:

“This is just another Ruthless Aggression speech from fifteen years ago and the ‘Puke thing’ (‘He’s gonna puke, he’s gonna puke”) [from Beyond The Mat}. It’s just this window into this odd Vince McMahon personality, but it’s just strange watching Vince do it where it just feels brittle and weird, I don’t know.”

Keller also mentioned that it could probably lead to a new direction/character change for Styles.

What's next?

Styles is currently negotiating for a new contract and has asked for some time off in the near future in order to spend more time with his family. This could be the reason why he dropped the title to Bryan and why he hasn't been on every SmackDown since before Survivor Series.

The segment is likely to propel Styles' character into a shift in dynamic since he's been the face champion for the better part of the last year. Since his contract ends after WrestleMania, they might either use this interaction as an on-screen storyline or simply as the impetus for Styles switching his character up.